Tuesday, 30 April 2024

Adjournment

Family violence

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (19:00): (611) My adjournment matter is to the Minister for Police. As the minister finds himself amidst the festivities of the May racing carnival in Warrnambool this week, I implore him to seize this opportune moment to do more than just revel in the atmosphere. I encourage the minister to take the opportunity to visit with families and the police who are dealing with the challenges of inadequate laws which are failing to keep women and children safe from domestic violence perpetrators. I would be happy to help arrange meetings with the affected families. Our police do all they can to support women who are subjected to domestic violence. However, they confront a disheartening reality that offenders persistently violate court orders, leaving police powerless and victims living in fear.

Last week I was contacted by the father of a woman who has been violently threatened by her ex-partner, who has breached his intervention order on multiple occasions. The father told me the initial IVO was taken out due to threats of harm against his daughter by her ex-partner. The ex-partner has now breached the conditions of the IVO no less than four times. On the fourth breach of his IVO the ex-partner attempted to make physical contact with the woman after being arrested for contacting her just nights before. The father who contacted me went to his daughter’s aid on the night in question and found the ex-partner, armed with a knife and a shovel, damaging property and threatening to harm the people at the property, including his daughter and grandchildren. The father was scared, and the daughter was terrified for her safety. The police arrived and arrested the man. However, he was released soon after with orders to appear before the magistrate. This is despite having weapons charges, multiple IVO breaches and criminal damage charges. The father is at a loss to understand the lack of police power to act in this situation. He is sick of the ex-partner breaching his IVOs, being released and then breaching his orders again while he waits for the court hearing. Meanwhile his daughter lives in fear for her and her children’s safety. I urge the minister to listen to the stories of these families. This is just one example of many. Yesterday in the local paper there were another two reports of IVO breaches.

Minister, let us cut to the chase. Your government committed to the national domestic violence plan back in 2022. Here we are in 2024, and instead of seeing a decline, we are witnessing a rise in domestic violence. Families in South-West Coast or anywhere else should not be living in fear. Almost every four days a woman loses her life to domestic violence. Let us let that sink in. It is a damning statistic that should shake us all to the core. The Premier and Deputy Premier attending the anti-violence rally last weekend was nothing more than virtue signalling. Let us not forget that it is your government that has been in power for the last 10 years and you have had the tools to make change, yet the damning statistics of women dying at the hands of their partners have only gotten worse. Our community demands better. Women demand better.